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The Balanced Scorecard:
Strategic-Based Control
The Balanced Scorecard: Strategic-Based Control
Copyright 2014 by
DELTACPE LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this course may be reproduced in any form or by any means, without permission
in writing from the publisher.
The author is not engaged by this text or any accompanying lecture or electronic media in the rendering of legal,
tax, accounting, or similar professional services. While the legal, tax, and accounting issues discussed in this
material have been reviewed with sources believed to be reliable, concepts discussed can be affected by
changes in the law or in the interpretation of such laws since this text was printed. For that reason, the accuracy
and completeness of this information and the author's opinions based thereon cannot be guaranteed. In
addition, state or local tax laws and procedural rules may have a material impact on the general discussion. As a
result, the strategies suggested may not be suitable for every individual. Before taking any action, all references
and citations should be checked and updated accordingly.
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—-From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a committee of the American Bar Association and a
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All numerical values in this course are examples subject to change. The current values may vary and may not be
valid in the present economic environment.
Course Description
The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is a strategic-based responsibility accounting system that converts an
organization’s mission and strategy into operational objectives and measures for four perspectives: the financial
perspective, the customer perspective, the internal process perspective, and the learning and growth
perspective. The course addresses the main features of the Balanced Scorecard and its implementation.
Presented are several notable case studies that implemented and applied the BSC.
Field of Study Accounting
Level of Knowledge Overview
Prerequisite None
Advanced Preparation None
Table of Contents
The Balanced Scorecard: Strategic-Based Control ....................................................................................................1
Learning Objectives ................................................................................................................................................1
Activity-Based Versus Strategic-Based Responsibility Accounting .........................................................................2
Assigning Responsibility .....................................................................................................................................2
Establishing Performance Metrics ......................................................................................................................3
KPIs and Evaluation ............................................................................................................................................3
Assigning Rewards ..............................................................................................................................................3
Basic Concepts of the Balanced Scorecard .............................................................................................................3
Financial Perspective: Objectives and KPIs.........................................................................................................7
Customer Perspective: Objectives and Measures ..............................................................................................8
Review Questions – Section 1 ............................................................................................................................. 10
Internal business process Perspective: Objectives and KPIs ........................................................................... 12
Learning and Growth Perspective: Objectives and KPIs .................................................................................. 15
Scorecard for a Biotechnology Firm ................................................................................................................ 18
Applying the Balanced Scorecard to a School District ..................................................................................... 19
Scorecard for a Consumer Products Firm ........................................................................................................ 20
The Balanced Scorecard and United Parcel Service ........................................................................................ 21
Balanced Scorecard and Nonprofits ................................................................................................................ 21
Web Resources ................................................................................................................................................ 22
Strategic Alignment ......................................................................................................................................... 22
Linking KPIs to Strategy ................................................................................................................................... 23
Sustainability and Performance Evaluation......................................................................................................... 25
Implementing a Balanced Scorecard ................................................................................................................... 25
Case Studies ......................................................................................................................................................... 26
Case study 1: Mobil Corporation ..................................................................................................................... 26
Case Study 2: Tesco ......................................................................................................................................... 34
Case Study 3: Toyota ....................................................................................................................................... 42
Case Study 4 - International Baccalaureate ..................................................................................................... 46
Review Questions – Section 2 ............................................................................................................................. 50
Glossary ................................................................................................................................................................... 51
Index ........................................................................................................................................................................ 52
Review Question Answers ....................................................................................................................................... 53
1
The Balanced Scorecard: Strategic-Based Control
Learning Objectives
After studying this course you will be able to:
1. Recognize key attributes of a strategic-based responsibility accounting systems.
2. Identify the basic characteristics and outcome measurements of the Balanced Scorecard.
3. Identify operational objectives and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each perspective.
4. Recognize how the Balanced Scorecard links measures to strategy.
5. Calculate key performance indicators.
In today’s world there is no need to say that competitive edge cannot be gained only by excellent management
of physical and financial assets. The ability of a company to mobilize and exploit its tangible or invisible assets
has become far more decisive than investing and managing physical, tangible assets. In other words, the success
of a company no longer depends upon production facilities, financial capital and ownership, but more upon
intangible assets.
Intangible assets are defined as the assets that are not physical in nature such as intellectual property, trade
secrets, pricing formulas, customer lists, business plans, recipes, and so on. Intangible assets are of great
importance because they enable a company to distinguish itself from competitors by:
Developing customer relationships that retain the loyalty of existing customers;
Introducing innovative products and services desired by targeted customer segments;
Producing customized high-quality products and services at low cost and with short lead times;
Mobilizing employee skills and motivation for continuous improvements in process capabilities, quality,
and response times;
Deploying information technology, data bases, and systems
By taking the importance of intangible assets, it makes much more sense to say that these traditional financial
systems should be expanded to incorporate the valuation of a company’s intangible assets. And right at this
point, a model developed by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton comes into scene, the Balanced Scorecard.
The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is a strategic performance management system that permits an organization to
create a strategic focus by translating an organization's strategy into operational objectives and performance
measures for four different perspectives: the financial perspective, the customer perspective, the internal
2
business process perspective, and the learning and growth (infrastructure) perspective. A strategic performance
management system can assume different forms, the most common being that of the Balanced Scorecard.
Strategy is defined as choosing the market and customer segments the business unit intends to serve,
identifying the critical internal and business processes that the unit must excel at to deliver the value
propositions to customers in the targeted market segments, and selecting the individual and organizational
capabilities required for the internal, customer, and financial objectives.
Activity-Based Versus Strategic-Based Responsibility
Accounting
Activity-based responsibility accounting represents a significant change in how responsibility is assigned,
measured, and evaluated. The activity-based system added a process perspective to the financial perspective of
the functional-based accounting system. In effect, responsibility accounting changed from a one-dimensional
system to a two-dimensional system and from a control system to a performance management system.
The responsibility accounting model is defined by four essential elements:
1. Assigning responsibility
2. Establishing performance measures or benchmarks
3. Evaluating performance
4. Assigning rewards.
Continuous improvement (CI) efforts associated with responsibility accounting in an activity-based environment
are often fragmented and they fail to connect with the organization’s overall mission and strategy. Directed
continuous improvement requires managers to carefully specify a mission and strategy for their organization and
identify the objectives, performance measures, and initiatives necessary to accomplish this overall mission and
strategy.
Assigning Responsibility
Effective management control requires performance measurement and feedback. This process affects allocation
of resources to organizational subunits. It also affects decisions about managers' compensation, advancement,
and future assignments. Furthermore, evaluating their performance serves to motivate managers to optimize
the measures in the performance evaluation model. However, that model may be inconsistent with the
organization's model for managerial decision making.
The strategic-based responsibility accounting system adds direction to improvement efforts by tying
responsibility to the firm’s strategy. Ideally, all individuals in the organization should understand the
organization’s strategy and know how their specific responsibilities support achievement of the strategy.
3
Establishing Performance Metrics
With the strategic-based approach, performance measures or key performance Indicators, KPI for short) must be
integrated so that they are mutually consistent and reinforcing. The performance measures must be balanced
and linked to the organization’s strategy. When the measures selected are balanced between lag measures and
lead measures, between objective measures and subjective measures, between financial measures and
nonfinancial measures, and between external measures and internal measures, the KPIs are considered to be
balanced.
Lag measures are outcome measures or measures of results from past efforts (e.g., customer
profitability). Lead Measures or performance drivers are factors that drive future performance (e.g.,
hours of employee training).
Objective measures are those that can be readily quantified and verified (e.g., market share). Subjective
measures are less quantifiable and more judgmental in nature (e.g., employee capabilities).
Financial measures are those expressed in monetary terms (e.g., cost per unit). Nonfinancial measures
are measured in nonmonetary units (e.g., number of unsatisfied customers).
External measures are those that relate to customers and shareholders (e.g., customer satisfaction and
return on investment). Internal measures relate to the processes and capabilities that create value for
customers and shareholders (e.g., internal business process efficiency and employee satisfaction).
KPIs and Evaluation
In a strategic-based system, customer and learning and growth perspectives are included in the KPIs and
evaluation. Additional measures such as customer satisfaction, customer retention, employee capabilities, and
revenue growth from new customers and new products should be included.
Performance evaluation should drive organizational change. Stretch targets are targets that are set at levels,
that, if achieved will transform the organization in three to five years. The measures used as stretch targets
should be linked by causal relationships, and the targets are set through a consensus of everyone in the
organization.
Assigning Rewards
Assigning rewards in a strategic-based system is much like assigning rewards in an activity-based system. The
reward system must be linked to the performance measures. In order for the Balanced Scorecard to be
effective, compensation must be tied to the scorecard measures. Team-based rewards present another set of
difficulties.
Basic Concepts of the Balanced Scorecard
A problem with just assessing performance with financial measures like profit, RO, residual income, and
4
Economic Value Added (EVA) is that the financial measures are "backward looking.'" In other words, today's
financial measures tell you about the accomplishments and failures of the past. An approach to performance
measurement that also focuses on what managers are doing today to create future shareholder value is the
Balanced Scorecard.
The trend in managerial performance evaluation is the Balanced Scorecard approach. Multiple measures of
performance permit a determination as to whether a manager is achieving certain objectives at the expense of
others that may be equally or more important. These measures may be financial or nonfinancial.
Essentially, a Balanced Scorecard is a set of performance measures constructed for four dimensions of
performance. As indicated in Exhibits 1 and 2, the dimensions are financial, customer, internal business
processes, and learning and growth. Having financial measures is critical even if they are backward looking. After
all, they have a great effect on the evaluation of the company by shareholders and creditors. Customer
measures examine the company's success in meeting customer expectations. Internal business process
measures examine the company's success in improving critical business processes. And learning and growth
measures examine the company's success in improving its ability to adapt, innovate, and grow. The customer,
internal business processes, and learning and growth measures are generally thought to be predictive of future
success (i.e., they are not backward looking).
A variety of potential measures for each dimension of a Balanced Scorecard are indicated in Exhibit 1.
The Balanced Scorecard suggests that an organization should be viewed from four different perspectives;
The Financial perspective—How do we look to shareholders?
The Customer perspective—How do customers see us?
The Internal business processes perspective—What must we excel at?
The Learning and Growth perspective—Can we continue to improve and create value?
These four perspectives allow the companies to measure how their business units create value for current and
future customers and how they must enhance internal capabilities and the investment in people, systems, and
procedures necessary to improve future performance. Companies that adopt the balanced scorecard develop
specific objectives they want to achieve within each of the four perspectives. These objectives are critical to the
company's overall success.
The scorecard development process helps better align daily work with overall company vision, mission and
goals. More and more high performance companies are developing measurements for their work in order to
gauge their progress and improve business. Properly utilizing the scorecard can also help these companies
measure key activities in such areas as:
Tracking performance against established strategic goals as required by the Government Performance
and Results Act.
Collecting data that are useful in monitoring customer satisfaction, employee morale, and organizational
learning along with the more traditional financial management measures.
Identifying the work activities that add value to the organization.
Incorporating data from customers, employees, learning and growth, and financial growth perspectives.
Obtaining a balanced view of the present and future performance of the organization
5
In most companies, the scorecard process starts with development of an overall corporate scorecard. Then,
individual divisions and departments develop their own, which feed into the main corporate scorecard.
As mentioned earlier, companies use key performance indicators (KPIs), which are summary performance
metrics, to assess how well a company is achieving its goals. For example, the company could use "average
customer satisfaction rating" as a KPI to measure the company's ability to please customers. "Number of
warranty claims" could be used to measure the company's ability to produce quality products.
KPIs are continually measured, and are reported on a performance scorecard or performance dashboard, a
report that allows managers to visually monitor and focus on managing the company's key activities and
strategies as well as business risks. Short-term and long-term targets for each KPI should also be displayed on
the dashboard or scorecard so that managers can determine whether the company is improving and moving
towards each objective, or whether new strategies need to be developed. To focus attention on the most critical
elements to success and to prevent information overload, management should use only a few KPIs for each
balanced scorecard perspective.
Exhibit 1
Four Perspectives of the Balanced Scorecard
6
Exhibit 2
Balanced Scorecard
Dimension Description KPIs
Financial
Is the company achieving its
financial goals?
Operating income
Return on assets
Residual income or economic value added
(EVA)
Return on equity
Profit margin
Cost variances
Sales growth
Cash flow from operations
Reduction of administrative expense
Customer
Is the company meeting
customer expectations?
Customer satisfaction scores
Customer retention rates
New customer acquisition
Market share
On-time delivery
Time to fill orders
Internal Business
Processes
Is the company improving
critical internal processes?
Defect rate
Lead time
Number of suppliers
Material turnover
Percent of practical capacity
Percentage of jobs completed on time
Number of new contacts from advertising
Fuel usage efficiency
Number of “re-servicings.”
Learning and Growth
Is the company improving its
ability to innovate?
Amount spent on employee training
Employee satisfaction
Employee retention or turnover
Hours of training
Number of new products
New product sales as a percent of total sales
Number of patents
7
We now consider each of the perspectives and how they are linked together. We will also present some of the
more commonly used KPIs.
All the perspectives are described at great depth below.
Financial Perspective: Objectives and KPIs
The financial perspective establishes the long- and short-term financial performance objectives. The financial
perspective is concerned with the global financial consequences of the other three perspectives. Thus, the
objectives and KPIs of the other perspectives must be linked to the financial objectives. The financial
perspective has three strategic themes: revenue growth and mix, cost reduction/productivity improvement, and
asset utilization/ investment strategy. The three themes are constrained by the need for managers to manage
risk.
1. Revenue growth and mix refers to the expansion of product and service offerings, reaching new
customers and markets, changing the product and service mix through higher value added offerings, and
pricing products and services. The most common revenue growth measure would be sales growth rates
and market share for targeted regions, markets, and customers.
2. Cost reduction/productivity improvement refers to efforts to decrease the direct costs of products and
services, reduce indirect costs, and share common resources with other business units.
3. Asset utilization/investment strategy refers to the managers’ attempt to reduce the working capital
levels required to support a given volume and mix of business.
Summary Of Objectives And KPIs:
Financial Perspective
Objectives KPIs
Revenue Growth and Mix:
Increase the number of new products Percentage of revenue from new products
Create new applications Percentage of revenue from new applications
Develop new customers and markers Percentage of revenue from new sources
Adopt a new pricing strategy Product and customer profitability
Cost Reduction/Productivity Improvement:
Reduce unit product cost Unit product cost
Reduce unit customer cost Unit customer cost
Reduce distribution channel cost Cost per distribution channel
Asset Utilization/Investment Strategy:
Improve asset utilization Return on investment
Residual income (RI) or Economic Value Added
(EVA)
8
Customer Perspective: Objectives and Measures
The customer perspective is the source of the revenue component for the financial objectives. This perspective
defines and selects the customer and market segments in which the company chooses to compete. Failure to
deliver the right kinds of products and services to the targeted customers means revenue will not be generated.
Once the customers and segments are defined, then core objectives and KPIs are developed which will be
common across all organizations. There are five key core objectives:
1. Market share reflects the proportion of business in a given market that a company sells. Once the
targeted customer group or market segment has been defined then measuring market share becomes
too straightforward.
2. Customer acquisition measures the rate at which a company attracts or wins new customers or business.
Customer acquisition could be measured by either the number of new customers or the total sales to
new customers in targeted segments.
3. Customer retention tracks the rate at which a company retains or maintains ongoing relationships with
its customers. Besides this, many companies measure customer loyalty by the percentage growth of
business with existing customers.
4. Customer satisfaction assesses the satisfaction level of customers. It provides feedback on how well a
company is doing. The more satisfied a company’s customers are, the more likely the company is doing
well.
5. Customer profitability measures the net profit of a customer, or a segment, after allowing for the unique
expenses required to support that customer.
As can be seen from Exhibit 4, all the core measures are interrelated, so companies can deliver superior value to
their customers if they place great emphasis on them.
Exhibit 4
Core Measures Of Customer Perspective
Market
Share
Customer
Profitability Customer
Acquisition
Customer
Retention
Customer
Satisfaction
Customer
Satisfaction
9
In addition to the core KPIs and objectives, KPIs are needed that drive the creation of customer value and, thus,
drive the core outcomes. Customer value is the difference between realization and sacrifice, where realization
is what the customer receives and sacrifice is what is given up.
Summary Of Objectives And KPIs:
Customer Perspective
Objectives KPIs
Core:
Increase market share Market share (percentage of market)
Increase customer retention Percentage growth of business from <Misting
customers
Percentage of repeating customers
Increase customer acquisition Number of new customers
Increase customer satisfaction Ratings from customer surveys
Increase customer profitability Customer profitability
Performance Value:
Decrease price Price
Decrease post purchase costs Postpurche costs
Improve product functionality Ratings from customer surveys
Improve product quality Percentage of returns
Increase delivery reliability On-time delivery percentage
Aging schedule
Improve product image and reputation Ratings from customer surveys
10
Review Questions – Section 1
1. An organization's managerial decision-making model for capital budgeting is based on the net present value
of discounted cash flows. The same organization's managerial performance evaluation model is based on annual
divisional return on investment. Which of the following is true?
A. Divisional managers are likely to maximize the measures in the performance evaluation model.
B. Divisional managers are likely to maximize the measures in the decision-making model.
C. The manager has an incentive to accept a project with a positive net present value that initially has a
negative effect on net income.
D. The use of models with different criteria promotes goal congruence.
2. The balanced scorecard provides an action plan for achieving competitive success by focusing management
attention on critical success factors. Which one of the following is NOT one of the perspectives on the business
into which key performance indicators (KPIs) are commonly grouped in the balanced scorecard?
A. Competitor business strategies.
B. Financial performance.
C. Internal business processes.
D. Employee innovation and learning.
3. Using the balanced scorecard approach, an organization evaluates managerial performance based on
A. A single ultimate measure of operating results, such as residual income.
B. Multiple financial and nonfinancial measures.
C. Multiple nonfinancial measures only.
D. Multiple financial measures only.
4. Which of the following balanced scorecard perspectives examines a company's success in targeted market
segments?
A. Financial.
B. Internal business process.
C. Customer.
D. Learning and growth.
5. On a balanced scorecard, which of the following is NOT a customer satisfaction measure?
A. Market share.
11
B. Economic value added (EVA).
C. Speed of delivery.
D. Customer retention.
12
Internal business process Perspective: Objectives and KPIs
Processes are the means for creating customer and shareholder value. Thus, the process perspective entails the
identification of the processes needed to achieve customer and financial objectives. To provide the framework
needed for this perspective, a process value chain is defined. The process value chain is made up of three
processes: the innovation process, the operations process, and the postsales process.
In the innovation process, the company reaches the emerging needs of the customers, and then creates the
products or services that will satisfy those needs.
In the second process namely operations process, the existing products or services are produced and delivered
to customers. Operational excellence and cost reduction have been always the number 1 issue for companies,
but the Balanced Scorecard assumes that operational excellence can be only one component in an entire value
chain model.
Post sale service process is the last step of the entire value chain model, and in this step companies offer service
to the customers after the original sale or delivery of a product or service. The post sale services vary greatly in
according to the nature of a company’s business.
Exhibit 5 (Kaplan R. S., & Norton D. P., (1996). The Balanced Scorecard. Harvard Business School Press) provides
a template for companies to use when designing their internal business processes.
Exhibit 5
The Value Chain Model
INNOVATION > OPERATIONS > POSTSALE
Identify the
Market
Create the
Product or
Service
Build the
Products/
Services
Deliver the
Products/
Services
Service to
Customer
Common process time measures are cycle time, velocity, and manufacturing cycle efficiency (MCE).
Cycle Time and Velocity: The time it takes a company to respond to a customer order is referred to as
responsiveness. Cycle time and velocity are two operational measures of responsiveness. Cycle time
(manufacturing) is the length of time it takes to produce a unit of output from the time materials are received
(starting point of the cycle) until the good is delivered to finished goods inventory (finishing point of the cycle).
Thus, cycle time is the time required to produce a product (time/units produced). Velocity is the number of units
of output that can be produced in a given period of time (units produced/time). Although cycle time has been
defined for the operations process, it is defined in a similar way for innovation and postsales service processes.
For example, how long does it take to create a new product and introduce it to the market? Or, how long does it
take to resolve a customer complaint (from start to finish)?
13
Incentives can be used to encourage operational managers to reduce manufacturing cycle time or to increase
velocity, thus improving delivery performance. A natural way to accomplish this objective is to tie product costs
to cycle time and reward operational managers for reducing product costs. For example, in a JIT firm, cell
conversion costs can be assigned to products on the basis of the time that it takes a product to move through
the cell. Using the theoretical productive time available for a period (in minutes), a value-added standard cost
per minute can be computed.
Standard cost per minute = Cell conversion costs/Minutes available
To obtain the conversion cost per unit, this standard cost per minute is multiplied by the actual cycle time used
to produce the units during the period. By comparing the unit cost computed using the actual cycle time with
the unit cost possible using the theoretical or optimal cycle time, a manager can assess the potential for
improvement. Note that the more time it takes a product to move through the cell, the greater the unit product
cost. With incentives to reduce product cost, this approach to product costing encourages operational managers
and cell workers to find ways to decrease cycle time or increase velocity.
EXAMPLE 1
An example will illustrate these concepts. Assume that a company has the following data for one of its
manufacturing cells:
Theoretical velocity: 40 units per hour
Productive minutes available (per year): 1,200,000
Annual conversion costs: $4,800,000
Actual velocity: 30 units per hour
The actual and theoretical conversion costs per unit are shown below. Notice that the per-unit conversion cost
can be reduced from $8 to $6 by decreasing cycle time from four minutes per unit to one and one-half minutes
per unit (or increasing velocity from 30 units per hour to 40 units per hour). At the same time, the objective of
improving delivery performance is achieved.
Actual Conversion Cost per Unit
Standard cost per minute = $4,800,000/1,200,000 = $4 per minute
Actual cycle time = 60 minutes/30 units = 2 minutes per unit
Actual conversion cost = $4 X 2 = $8 per unit
Theoretical Conversion Cost per Unit
Theoretical cycle time = 60 minutes/40 units = 1.5 minutes per unit
Ideal conversion cost = $4 X 1.5 = $6 per unit
14
Manufacturing Cycle Efficiency (MCE) Another time-based operational measure calculates manufacturing cycle
efficiency (MCE) as follows:
MCE =
Processing time
Processing time + Move Time + Inspection Time
+ Wait time
where processing time is the time it takes to convert materials into a finished good. The other activities and
their times are viewed as wasteful (nonvalue-added), and the goal is to reduce those times to zero. If this is
accomplished, the value of MCE would be 1.0. As MCE improves (moves toward 1.0), cycle time decreases.
Furthermore, since the only way MCE can improve is by decreasing waste, cost reduction must also follow.
EXAMPLE 2
To illustrate MCE, let's use the data from Example 1. The actual cycle time is 2.0 minutes, and the theoretical
cycle time is 1.5 minutes. Thus, the time wasted is 0.50 minute (2.0 - 1.5), and MCE is computed as follows:
MCE = 2.0/2.5 = 0.80
Actually, this is a fairly efficient process, as measured by MCE. Many manufacturing companies have MCEs less
than 0.05.
Summary of Objectives And KPIs:
Internal Business Process Perspective
Objectives KPIs
Innovation:
Increase the number of new products Number of new products vs. planned
Increase proprietary products Percentage revenue from proprietary products
Decrease new product development time Time to market (from start to finish)
Operations:
Increase process quality Quality costs
Output yields
Percentage of defective units
Increase process efficiency Unit cost trends
Output/input(s)
Cycle time and velocity
Manufacturing cycle efficiency (MCE)
Postsale Service:
Increase service quality First-pass yields
Increase service efficiency Costs trends
15
Output/input
Decrease service efficiency Cycle time
Learning and Growth Perspective: Objectives and KPIs
In a knowledge-worker company, people are the main resource and in today’s world, it is necessary for
knowledge workers to be in continuous learning mode. In this perspective of the Balanced Scorecard, the
infrastructure that a company is supposed to build to create long-term growth and improvement is identified. It
asks the question, “Can we continue to improve and create value?"
The other three perspectives of the Balanced Scorecard; namely financial, internal business processes and
customer perspectives will reveal large gaps between the existing capabilities of people, systems, and
procedures and what will be required to achieve breakthrough performance. In order to bridge these gaps,
companies should invest in improving their employees, modifying information technology, and so on.
The Balanced Scorecard addresses the importance of investing for the future rather than just investing in
traditional areas such as new equipment and new product research and development. This model assumes that
equipment and R&D investments are unlikely to be sufficient by themselves only; therefore companies must
invest in their employees who are the backbone of a company.
The learning and growth (infrastructure) perspective is the source of the capabilities that enable the
accomplishment of the other three perspectives’ objectives. This perspective has three major objectives:
increasing employee capabilities; increasing motivation, empowerment, and alignment; and increasing
information systems capabilities.
Summary of Objectives and KPIs:
Learning And Growth Perspective
Objectives KPIs Increase employee capabilities Employee satisfaction ratings
Employee turnover percentages
Employee productivity (revenue/employee)
Hours of training
Strategic job coverage ratio (percentage of critical job
requirements filled)
Increase motivation and alignment Suggestions per employee
Suggestions implemented per employee
Increase information systems capabilities Percentage of processes with real-time feedback capabilities
Percentage of customer-facing employees with online
access to customer and product information
After reviewing these KPIs, note how "balance" is achieved:
16
Performance is assessed across a balanced set of dimensions (financial, customer, internal processes,
and innovation).
Quantitative measures (e.g., number of defects) are balanced with qualitative measures (e.g., ratings of
customer satisfaction).
There is a balance of backward-looking measures (e.g., financial measures like growth in sales) and
forward-looking measures (e.g., number of new patents as an innovation measure).
Note:
The balance scorecard works for any type of business, private or public, for profit or nonprofit, and size of the
business, small or large. The balanced scorecard measures or KPI, however, vary with a company’s strategy
and industry.
Exhibit 6 lists examples of performance indicators for each Balanced Scorecard dimension across a wide range of
industries.
Exhibit 6
Examples of Balanced Scorecard Measures by Industry
Industry
Financial
Dimension
Customer
Dimension
Internal Business
Process Dimension
Learning and
Growth Dimension
Airlines
Return on assets
Frequent flier
program
participation rates
Percentage of on-
time takeoffs and
arrivals
Labor contract
length
Consumer retail
banks
Ratio of assets to
debt
Number of new
accounts opened
Number of new
branches
Hours of employee
training completed
Accounting,
consulting, and
law firms
Profit margin Client retention rate Percentage of
projects completed
on time
Certification and
education levels of
professionals
Computer
manufacturers
Sales growth
from new
products
Number of corporate
customers
Number of product
defects
Percentage of
factory employees
who completed
quality control
training
Supermarkets Inventory
turnover
Customer
satisfaction
Product spoilage
rates
Employee turnover
rates
17
18
Scorecard for a Biotechnology Firm
Strategic Objectives Performance Measures
Financial Perspective
Growth
Profitability
Industry leadership
Percent increase in revenue of top line products
Return on equity; earnings per share
Market share
Customer Perspective Outcome:
New products
Early purchase of seasonal products
Percent of sales from new products
Percent of sales recorded by early purchase date
Leading:
Early payment
Product quality
Customer satisfaction
Percent of customers who pay early
Product performance vs. industry quality standards
Customer satisfaction surveys
Internal business processes Perspective
Service-after-Sale:
Accurate invoices
Percent of error-free invoices
Operations:
Low-cost producer
Reduce inventory
Unit cost vs. competitors
Inventory as percent of sales
Innovation:
New products
New active ingredients
Proprietary positions
Number of actual introduction vs. target
Number of new ingredients identified by research
program
Number of patents that create exclusive marketing
rights
Learning and Growth Perspective Outcome:
Employee retention
Employee satisfaction
Average employee years with company
Employee satisfaction surveys
Leadership:
Employee capabilities
Organizational structure capabilities
Training costs invested per employee; percent of
employees participating annually in training
Average weekly hours in teamwork settings; survey
of effective teamwork
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Applying the Balanced Scorecard to a School District
Knowlton School District is currently developing a balanced scorecard to be used by all the schools in the district
(K-12). At a meeting with all of the principals in the Knowlton School District, the following objectives were
created for each of the five categories shown on the next page. (Note the balanced scorecard categories can and
should be adjusted to suit the specific needs of the organization.) There are many different measures that can
be used. Here are some possible measures.
Goal Areas Objectives Measures
1. Student
Achievement
Student mastery of curriculum
Nationally competitive students
Proficiency tests in various subjects
Retention rates
Drop-out rates
SAT scores
AP Exam scores
Enrollment in college-credit courses
2.Customer
Satisfaction
Safe and enriching school
Environment
Parent satisfaction
Community involvement
Absenteeism and tardy rates
Participation in extracurricular activities
Perception of safety (student surveys)
Scores on parent surveys
Number of parent complaints
Total volunteer hours
Dollars donated
Number of business partners
3. Instructional and
Administrative
Processes
Effective instruction
Safe and efficient transportation
Well-maintained facilities
% of students in summer school
% of teachers certified in special programs
% of teachers using technology
Accidents per million miles
On-time bus delivery
Accidents per student days
Scores on inspection reports
Level of backlogged maintenance reports
4. Staff Learning and
Growth
Competent staff
Staff satisfaction
% of teachers with 7+ years of experience
% of teachers with advanced degrees
% of board-certified teachers
Absenteeism rates
Percentage of teachers retiring early
Scores on teacher surveys
5. Financial
Performance
Sound fiscal management Revenue variances of actual to budget
Expense variances of actual to budget
Fund balances
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Scorecard for a Consumer Products Firm
Maker of Small Home Appliances
Strategic Objectives Performance Measures
Financial Perspective
Increase Profitability
Increase new customers and markets
Reduce unit cost
ROI
Revenue from new sources
Unit cost
Customer Perspective Outcome:
Increase customer acquisition
Increase customer satisfaction
Increase market share
Improve product quality
Improve image and reputation
New Customers
Survey ratings
Market share
Returns
Survey ratings
Process:
Improve process quality
Increase quality of purchased parts
Redesign time
Quality costs
Percentage of defective units
Engineering hours
Learning and Growth Perspective Outcome:
Increase employee capabilities
Increase motivation
Improve information system
capabilities
Training hours
Suggestions received and implemented
On-time report percentage
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The Balanced Scorecard and United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service (UPS) delivers over 5.4 billion packages a year in over 200 countries. To achieve such
astonishing volume, UPS employs over 425,000 people and flies more than 1,900 flight segments each day into
800 airports around the world. How does management successfully guide the actions of all of these employees?
First, it divides—or decentralizes—the company into three segments: domestic packaging, international
packaging, and nonpackaging services (such as supply chain and logistics). It further breaks each packaging
segment into geographic regions and each region into. Management gives each district man authority to make
his or her district. Because top management wants to every employee to know how his or her day-to-day job
contributes to the company's goals, it implemented the balanced scorecard system, for communicating strategy
to all district managers and employees. Management can also use the balanced scorecard to measure whether
each district is meeting its goals and to assess where changes should be made. According to one UPS executive,
"The balanced scorecard provided a road map—the shared vision of our future goals—with action elements that
let everyone contributes to our success." Has the balanced scorecard helped UPS become an industry leader? In
2008, Fortune rated UPS as the "World's Most Admired Company in its Industry" for the tenth consecutive year.
Year after year, UPS continues to win awards in the areas of E-commerce, technology, business excellence, and
corporate citizenship.
Balanced Scorecard and Nonprofits
Wendy Kopp founded Teach for America (TFA) in 1989, based on her undergraduate honors thesis at Princeton.
Her vision was to ensure that one day all children in this nation would have the opportunity to attain an
excellent education. TFA recruited a national teacher corps drawn from talented, highly motivated graduating
seniors who committed to teach for two years in urban and rural public schools. TFA's strategy was based on an
explicit model of social change in which corps members played two roles. First, they would improve the
educational experience and life experiences of existing students through their two-year teaching positions.
Second, they would influence fundamental educational reform throughout their lives through their career and
voluntary activities As TFA scaled to become a nationwide enterprise, it created a Balanced Scorecard to reflect
its strategy. TFA chose to modify the standard nonprofit template by labeling and sequencing its five
perspectives as social impact, constituent, operating processes, financial, and organizational capacity. The social
impact perspective contained two high-level objectives: improving the educational performance of today's
students and enhancing the educational opportunities for tomorrow's students. For the second objective, TFA
created a new metric by reviewing annually the career paths of alumni to determine how they were affecting
social change; for example, running for public office, working in public policy, entering school or district
leadership, being a truly outstanding classroom teacher, or publishing articles and books about improving
education in low-income communities.
Source: www.teachforamerica.org.
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Web Resources
There are numerous Web resources that you can log on to learn more about the balanced score card and
performance evaluations. For example, managers frequently look to industry “best practices” or examples of
successful implementations at other firms when developing measurement programs. The following list below
provides valuable resources for evaluating performance and business decision making across a wide range of
industries.
The Balanced Scorecard Institute (www.balancedscorecard.org). The Balanced Scorecard Institute is an
independent educational institute that provides training and guidance to assist government agencies and
companies in applying best practices in balanced scorecard (BSC) and performance measurement for
strategic management and transformation. Their website provides background information about
implementing the balanced scorecard and the proper selection of nonfinancial measures. It also provides
several examples of past successes.
American Productivity and Quality Center (www.apqc.org). The American Productivity & Quality Center
(APQC), an internationally recognized nonprofit organization, provides expertise in benchmarking and best
practices research. APQC helps organizations adapt to rapidly changing environments, build new and better
ways to work, and succeed in a competitive marketplace. It has a membership of over 450 prestigious global
firms including 3M, AT&T, Cisco Systems, and Ernst & Young. The objective of this collaborative center is to
“Understand how innovative organizations create succession management programs to identify and
cultivate potential leaders who will provide a sustainable business advantage.” The Best Practices and Free
Resources links lead to many useful resources.
Management Help (www.managementhelp.org). This website offers a robust “library” of decision-making
tools and library resources. The site offers many resources on such topics as strategic planning, performance
measurement, employee development, and make-or-outsource decisions. It also includes online discussion
groups, decision-making guidance, and free reference material.
There are numerous private consultants and training Websites, such as www.ap-institute.com,
www.BalancedScorecard.net, and www.managersPitStop.com, that allow you to have access to white
papers, case studies, and free Balance Scorecard review.
BSC SOFTWARE
There are numerous software and its web-bases service such as Scoreboard (www.tntstrategy.com), and
Balanced Scorecard Module (www.StrategyMapScorecard.com).
Strategic Alignment
The Balanced Scorecard is designed to bring about change. In order for change to occur, the following must take
place:
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1. Employees must be fully informed of the strategy so that they will accept and agree to the strategic
efforts of the organization.
2. Employees must share ownership for the objectives, KPIs, targets, and initiatives.
3. Resources must be allocated to support the strategy.
Linking KPIs to Strategy
The Balanced Scorecard is a collection of critical performance measures that have some special qualities
including:
1. Performance measures should be derived from an entity’s strategy.
2. Performance measures should be chosen so that they are balanced between outcome and lead
measures.
3. All scorecard measures should be linked by cause-and-effect relationships.
This cause-and-effect relationship is vital to the success of the Balanced Scorecard. Cause-and-effect
relationships are the means by which lead and lag measures are integrated and simultaneously serve as the
mechanism for expressing and revealing the firm’s strategy.
A testable strategy can be defined as a set of linked objectives aimed at an overall goal. The testability of the
strategy can be achieved by restating the strategy into a set of cause-and-effect hypotheses that are expressed
by a sequence of if-then statements.
A strategy map is a diagram that is used to document the primary strategic goals being pursued by an
organization or management team and can then be created based on the if-then statements developed. A
strategy map is illustrated in Exhibit 7.
Perhaps the most important message associated with the cause-and-effect structure is that the viability of the
strategy is testable. Strategic feedback is available that allows managers to test the reasonableness of the
strategy.
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Exhibit 7
Strategy Map
Financial
Customer
Process Learning & Growth
Increase Sales
Increase Profits
Increase Market Share
Increase Customer Satisfaction
Redesign
Products
Reduce Defective Units
Quality Training
STRATEGY MAP
Financial
Customer
Process Learning & Growth
Costs Decrease
Profits Increase
Revenues Increase
Customer Satisfaction
Increases
Market Share
Increases
Defects Decrease
Redesign Process
Supplier Selection
Soldering Training
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Sustainability and Performance Evaluation
Companies that embrace sustainability and social responsibility incorporate relevant KPIs in their performance
evaluation system. Some companies will integrate sustainability-related KPIs into the four traditional balanced
scorecard perspectives. For example, KPIs for each perspective might include the following:
Financial: water cost, recycling revenues, waste disposal costs
Customer: number of green products, percentage of products reclaimed after use
Internal business process: energy consumption, water consumption, greenhouse gas emissions
Learning and Growth: number of functions with environmental responsibilities,
management attention to environmental issues
Other companies add a fifth perspective, "Sustainability," or even add a sixth perspective, "Community," to
reflect triple bottom line goals. The Sustainability Perspective could include any of the examples given above,
while the Community Perspective might include:
Community: percentage of profit donated to local schools and organizations, percentage of
materials sourced locally, product safety ratings, number of hours devoted to local volunteering
KPIs relating to sustainability and social responsibility should be objective and measurable, with both short-term
and long-term targets specified. A long-term outlook is especially important regarding sustainability, since most
operational changes related to sustainability require substantial investment in the short-run that should result in
cost savings in the long-run (for example, investing in a fleet of delivery trucks that run on alternative fuels).
Baseline measurements should also be taken at the time the targets are adopted, so that managers can
determine whether improvements are being made.
The environmental performance metrics also serve as a way for corporations to report their journey towards
sustainability to stakeholders. For example, many companies, including Campbell Soup Company, now publish
an annual Corporate Responsibility Report in addition to their annual financial report. This report details the
company's environmental goals and summarizes the company's progress towards them.
Implementing a Balanced Scorecard
The development and implementation of a comprehensive balanced scorecard requires active support and
participation by senior management. This involvement will in turn ensure the cooperation of lower-level
managers in the identification of objectives, appropriate measures, targeted results, and methods of achieving
the results. The following should be noted:
1. The scorecard should contain measures at the detail level that permits everyone to understand how
his/her efforts affect the firm's results.
2. The scorecard and the strategy it represents must be communicated to all managers and used as a basis
for compensation decisions.
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3. The scorecard should include lagging indicators (such as output and financial measures) and leading
indicators (such as certain nonfinancial measures). The latter should be used only if they are predictors
of ultimate financial performance.
4. The scorecard should permit a determination of whether certain objectives are being achieved at the
expense of others. For example, reduced spending on customer service may improve short-term
financial results at a significant cost suggested by a long-term decline in customer satisfaction measures.
Note: The following are problems in implementation of the balanced scorecard approach:
1) Using too many measures, with a consequent loss of focus on KPIs.
2) Failing to evaluate personnel on nonfinancial as well as financial measures.
3) Including measures that will not have long-term financial benefits.
4) Not understanding that subjective measures (such as customer satisfaction) are imprecise.
5) Trying to achieve improvements in all areas at all times.
6) Not being aware that the hypothesized connection between nonfinancial measures and ultimate
financial success may not continue to be true.
Case Studies
Case study 1: Mobil Corporation
Mobil and Exxon were two separate companies until late 1999. They entered into a merger in that year;
however they were competing against each other until that merger. Each company placed a singular imprint on
the energy industry and on the dynamic era of world history. Mobil achieved industrywide profit leadership
from 1995 up through this merge with Exxon, and became the most attractive company in the energy industry.
However, prior to 1995, Mobil was having some problems regarding its performance. It ranked last among its
industry peers, in 1992, in profitability, producing an unacceptably low return on investment, and so on. Then a
question comes into play here, how did Mobil overcome these vital problems and become the market leader? In
fact, the answer is very simple; by placing the BSC at the center of its management processes as of 1994 by the
proposal of the new management team. Below, all perspectives of Mobil’s BSC are examined in detail.
Financial Perspective
Mobil started its scorecard by defining its high-level financial objective: to increase Return on Capital Employed
(ROCE) from its current level of 7 percent to 12 percent within three years. The executives planned to improve
Mobil’s high-level ROCE measure by using two financial themes: productivity and growth. The productivity
theme consisted of cost reduction and asset intensity. Cost reduction, would be measured by operating cash
expenses versus the industry, with the goal of being the industry cost leader. Asset productivity would enable
Mobil to handle greater volumes from its growth strategy without expanding its asset base.
Mobil’s financial growth theme also consisted of two components. The first, volume growth, was for sales from
its basic gasoline products to grow faster than the industry average. In addition to volume growth, Mobil wanted
a higher proportion of its sales in its premium product grades. In other words, there are two measures
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embedded in one component. The second component represented the opportunity to sell products other than
gasoline to retail customers. An important component of Mobil’s growth theme was a customer-driven strategy
built around sales of convenience store products. New revenue could also come from lubricants, oil changes,
minor repairs, and common replacement parts.
Apparently, there was a clear risk that Mobil had to take. Productivity and growth together make companies
confused and fall back to one dimensional behavior. Fortunately, Mobil’s BSC allowed it to define and to clarify
this contradictory, to make the organization aware of the tradeoffs and to manage them.
Exhibit 8 below represents the financial perspective of Mobil’s BSC.
Exhibit 8
Financial Perspective of Mobil’s BSC
Revenue Growth Strategy Productivity Strategy
Increase ROCE to
12%
New sources of
Nongasoline
Revenue
Increase Customer
Profitability-
Premium Brands
Become Industry
Cost Leader
Maximize Use of
Existing Assets
Customer Perspective
When the executives of Mobil met to discuss ways to develp a new profitable growth strategy, they expressed
quite divergent views about why customers might be willing to pay a $0.06 to $0.10 per gallon premium to
purchase Mobil gasoline.
The Gasoline Marketing Department conducted a survey which revealed that Mobil has five distinct consumer
segments.
1. Road Warriors: Generally higher income, middle aged men who drive 25,000 to 50,000 miles a year, buy
premium gasoline with a credit card, purchase sandwiches and drinks from the convenience store, and
will sometimes wash their cars at the carwash. (16%)
2. True Blues: Usually men and women with moderate to high level incomes who are loyal to a brand and
sometimes to a particular station, frequently buy premium gasoline and pay in cash. (16%)
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3. Generation: Fuel, food, and fast: Upward Mobil men and women-half under 25 years of age-who are
constantly on the go, drive a lot and snack heavily from the convenience store. (27%)
4. Homebodies: Usually housewives who shuttle their children around during the day and use whatever
gasoline station is based in town or along their route of travel. (21%)
5. Price Shoppers: Generally are not loyal to either a brand or a particular station, and rarely buy the
premium line, frequently on tight budgets. (20%)
Mobil was now in a critical situation. It could compete for the price sensitive consumers, by lowering costs
throughout its value chain, including at the gasoline station, so that it could be profitable even at the lowest
prices charged to consumers.
Alternatively, Mobil could attempt to attract the first three segments by offering a superior buying experience.
But it could not do both. In order to deliver superior buying experience, it would have to invest in larger stations,
more gasoline pumps at each station, convenience stores, auxiliary car services, and training for station
personnel. Such a policy would raise costs at the gasoline station and hinder company from making much more
profits.
The other alternative for Mobil was that it could contemplate five different distribution systems to satisfy each
segment. However this policy would be too expensive and complex to deploy. Taking all these alternatives into
consideration, Mobil decided to target the first three segments and offer a great buying experience that would
sustain premium prices, even for its commodity like products. After making this decision, Mobil conducted
another market survey in order to find out what constitutes a great buying experience and the research revealed
the followings:
Immediate access to a gasoline pump
Self-payment mechanisms at the pump
Covered area for gasoline pumps
One hundred percent availability of product, especially premium grades
Clean restrooms
Satisfactory exterior station appearance
Safe, well lit station
Convenience store, stocked with fresh, high quality merchandise
Speedy purchase
Ample parking spaces near convenience store
Friendly employees
Availability of minor car services.
Mobil summarized these attributes as offering customers “a fast, friendly serve.” But then, another problem
came into play; how could all the attributes of the past, friendly serve buying experience be measured? In order
to do that, Mobil decided to use mystery shoppers, so it hired an independent third party to send a mystery
shopper to each Mobil station every month to purchase fuel and snack to evaluate the experience.
Additionally, Mobil realized that it did not consider the retailers or distributors as components of its strategy in
the past. This old strategic view put Mobil and its dealers into a zero-sum-game. Therefore, Mobil decided to
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include the dealers in its strategy and it turned out to be a win-win game rather than a zero-sum-game. Exhibit 9
summarizes the customer perspective of Mobil’s BSC.
Exhibit 9
Customer Perspective of Mobil’s BSC
Customer perspective
Delight the Consumer
Basic
Clean, safe, quality product, trusted
brand
Differentiators
Speedy purchase, friendly helpful
employees, recognize loyalty
Win-Win Dealer Relations
More Consumer Products
Help Develop Business Skills
Internal Business Process Perspective
Mobil identified two important internal business processes:
Develop new products and services
Generate dealer profits from non-gasoline revenues.
The first objective signaled the desire to enhance the buying experience of consumers by developing new
offerings at the gasoline station. The second objective supported both the win-win relationship with dealers and
Mobil’s financial objectives. In addition to these processes, Mobil included several objectives and measures in its
internal business process perspective for its basic refining and distribution operations. Measures for these
operations stressed low cost, consistent quality, reductions of asset downtime, and the elimination of
environmental, safety, and health-threatening incidents. Most of these measures related to cost reduction and
productivity themes in the financial perspective.
One could question why a company following a differentiation strategy used so many internal measures relating
to cost reduction and productivity. Because Mobil produced mostly commodity products, it could not use higher
process to recover any higher costs or inefficiencies incurred in its basic manufacturing and distribution
operations. The differentiation, for the new strategy, occurred at the gasoline station, not in its refineries,
pipelines, or distribution terminals. If the basic operations of refining and distribution did not create a
differentiated product or service, then any higher costs incurred in these processes could not be recovered in
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the final selling price. Therefore, Mobil had to follow an operational excellence strategy in its basic operating
processes. Exhibit 10 summarizes the internal business process perspective of Mobil’s BSC.
Exhibit 10
Internal Business Process Perspective
Build the Franchise
Create nongasoline
products and services
Be a Good Neighbor
Improve environmental,
health, safety
Increase Customer Value
Understand Consumers
Best in class Franchise Teams
Achieve Operational Excellence
Improve Hardware Performance
Improve Inventory Management
Industry Cost Leader
Internal Business Process
Perspective
Learning and Growth Perspective
The final set of objectives provided the foundation for Mobil’s strategy: skills and motivation of its employees
and the role for information technology. The project team identified three strategic objectives for the learning
and growth perspective:
1. Core Competencies and Skills
Encourage and facilitate our people to gain a broader understanding of the marketing and
refining business from end to end
Build the levels of skills and competencies necessary to execute our vision
Develop the leadership skills required to articulate the vision, promote integrated business
thinking, and develop our people.
2. Access to Strategic Information
Develop the strategic information required to execute our strategies.
3. Organizational Involvement
Enable the achievement of our vision by promoting an understanding of our organizational
strategy and by creating a climate in which our employees are motivated and empowered to
strive toward that vision.
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Exhibit 11 summarizes the learning and growth perspective of Mobil’s BSC, while Exhibit 12 presents strategic
objectives and measures.
Exhibit 11
The Learning and Growth Perspective of Mobil’s BSC
Learning and Growth Perspective
Climate for Action
Aligned
Personal Growth
Competencies
Fuctional Excellence
Leadership Skills
Integrated view
Technology
Process Improvement
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Exhibit 12
Mobil's Balanced Scorecard
Strategic Themes Strategic Objectives Strategic Measures
FINANCIAL Financial Growth F1 Return on Capital employed ROCE
F2 Existing Asset Utilization Cash Flow
F3 Profitability Net Margin Rank
F4 Industry Cost Leader Full Cost per Gallon
F5 Profitable Growth Volume Growth Rate
Premium Ratio
Nongasoline Revenue
CUSTOMER Delight the Consumer C1 Continually Delight the Consumer Share of Segment in Selected Key Markets
Mystery Shopper Rating
Win-Win Dealer Relations C2 Build Win-Win Relations with Dealer Dealer Gross Profit Growth
Dealer Survey
INTERNAL Build the Franchise I1 Innovative Products and Services New Product ROI
New Product Acceptance Rate
I2 Best in class Franchise Teams Dealer Quality
Safe and Reliable I3 Refinery Performance Yield Gap
Unplanned Downtime
Competitive Supplier I4 Inventory Management Inventory Levels
Run-out Rate
I5 Cost Leader Activity Cost vs. Competition
Quality I6 On Spec, on time Perfect Orders
Good Neighbor I7 Improve EHS Number of Environmental Incidents
Days Away from Work Rate
LEARNING/ Motivated Workforce L1 Climate for Action Employee Survey
GROWTH L2 Core Competencies and Skills Personal Balanced Scorecard
L3 Access to Strategic Information Strategic Competency Availability
Strategic Information Availability
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Conclusion
In today’s highly competitive business environments, companies must find new ways to deliver superior value to
their customers, to operate more efficiently, to create value for their shareholders, and to improve their abilities
to innovate and learn. Additionally, companies should measure their processes and performances on regular
basis in order to see how well they are doing. Measuring performance has been of great importance for decades
because;
if companies cannot measure their processes, they cannot manage their processes;
if they cannot manage their processes, they cannot change their processes for improvement and;
As can be seen, measuring performance is not the only ingredient for success. Companies should broaden their
views and they should incorporate performance measurement and performance management. Among several
tools that incorporate those two, Balanced Scorecard provides a more holistic approach by supplementing the
traditional financial measures with three additional perspectives: customer, internal business processes, and
learning and growth. Balanced Scorecard ensures that good performance in one area is not offset by poor
performance elsewhere.
As stated above, there are some other tools for measuring and managing performance; then one may ask why
companies would deploy Balanced Scorecard? Tracy K. Iseler of the US Department of Defense states that
Balanced Scorecard avoids both faulty measurement and management processes which are described below;
Faulty Measurement Processes Faulty Management Processes
Exclusively financial
Focused on functional silos
Ignore customers/shareholders
Only focus on lagging metrics
Lack insight to causes
Obvious to competitors
Measurements do not focus on business value
Short term horizons
Lack of ownership by management
Lack of comprehension by line employees
Conflicting rewards
Unambitious targets
Poor communication
Teamwork discouraged
When these faulty processes and so many enlightened companies such as Mobil, UPS, Chase Retail Bank, and
Duke Hospital are taken into consideration, there is no need to further discuss the necessity of Balanced
Scorecard.
* Kaplan R. S., & Norton D. P., (1996). The Balanced Scorecard. Harvard Business School Press.
Kaplan R. S., & Norton D. P., (2001). The Strategy Focused Organization: How Balanced Scorecard Companies
Thrive in the New Business Environment. Harvard Business School Press.
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Case Study 2: Tesco
Delivering Success: How Tesco Is Managing, Measuring and Maximizing Its Performance**
Tesco is one of the world’s most successful companies. This case study outlines how this world-leading retailer is
managing, measuring and maximizing its performance. It describes the performance framework used to manage
the business globally, outlines how the performance framework is being cascaded and communicated, and
illustrates how Tesco is engaging its employees in performance management. In addition, it highlights Tesco’s
approach to collecting the right data and its ability to turn this data into customer and business relevant
decisions.
Introduction
Tesco has delivered impressive performance. Good performance and business success is underpinned by the
right strategic objectives, which have to be communicated to all staff. However, even more critical are:
1. Making sure everyone in the company is actively engaged in trying to improve company performance –
all the time.
2. Having the data and analytical skills to test ideas and turn insight into customer and business relevant
actions.
This case study outlines Tesco’s performance management journey, which so far has been an extremely
successful one.
About Tesco
Tesco is an impressive company. The British-based international grocery and general merchandising retail group
operates 4331 stores across 14 countries, employs 470,000 people, and in 2009 generated £59.4bn in sales.
Tesco is the largest private sector employer in the United Kingdom, and is currently the third largest global
retailer based on revenue and the second largest based on profit. Over the years the company has been
transformed from a ‘pile it high, sell it cheap’ market trader to a world-leading retail group. While it originally
specialized in food and drink, it now offers a wide range of products including clothing and consumer electronics
and offers an increasing range of services such as telecoms, health, Internet, Insurance and financial services. In
addition to its stores, Tesco has created a very successful online supermarket offering among other things
groceries, home retailing, and music downloads. Even amidst the current global recession Tesco is performing
extremely well with a 15.1% growth in annual sales and a 5.5% growth in profits.
Drivers of Success
What is leading to Tesco’s global success is that it gives customers what they want. Sir Terry Leahy, Tesco’s Chief
Executive, puts it in simple terms when he says “Let me tell you a secret, the secret of successful retailing. It is
this: never stop listening to your customers and giving them what they want.” Tesco makes it very clear that its
philosophy, which is captured in the phrase “Every Little Helps” is more than just words or a marketing slogan.
On its website it states:
Every Little Helps is behind everything we do. It is not just something we say, we really do mean it. Really.
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Based around its Every Little Helps philosophy, Tesco has created two key values which are seen as their central
code of conduct and the way it does business. They are: “No one tries harder for customers” and “Treat people
how I like to be treated”.
No one tries harder for customers
The aim of this value is to instill a customer focus in everything people do. As part of this, Tesco aims to
understand customers better than anyone else and therefore deliver unbeatable value and service.
Treat people how I like to be treated3
Tesco wants its people to be well managed and to work in an environment that is based on trust and respect.
The company has learnt over the years that well motivated and managed staff will give customers great service.
The Performance Management Framework
When Sir Terry Leahy joined Tesco as their chief executive he made it clear that in order to deliver on its strategy
of growth the organization needed a clear direction, a map and a compass. The management team decided to
create a performance management framework that would provide the map and outline the key strategic
objectives of the company. Together with this it created key performance indicators (KPIs) to act as the compass
enabling the organization to check whether it was on track or not. The main purpose of the performance
management approach was to help steer the organization to success. Tesco decided to appropriately name its
performance framework the Corporate Steering Wheel.
The Corporate Steering Wheel
Today, the Corporate Steering Wheel provides strategic focus by communicating what matters the most in a
simple and easy to understand framework. It includes 20 corporate objectives across five perspectives. The
perspectives are arranged in a circle around the central philosophy of “Every Little Helps” and the two values of
“No one tries harder for customers” and “Treat people how I like to be treated”. Exhibit 13 shows the 2009
Corporate Steering Wheel with the following Objectives:
Financial Perspective: Grow Sales
Maximize Profit
Manage our Investment
Customer Perspective: Earn lifetime loyalty
The aisles are clear
I can get what I want
The prices are good
I don’t queue
The staff are great
Community Perspective:
Be responsible, fair and honest
Be a good neighbor
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Operations Perspective:
We try to get it right first time
We deliver consistently every day
We make our jobs easier to do
We know how vital our jobs are
We always save time and money
People Perspective:
An opportunity to get on
An interesting job
A manager who helps me
To be treated with respect
Exhibit 13
Tesco’s Corporate Steering Wheel
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Tesco’s CEO says that having objectives across these five perspectives allows Tesco to be balanced in its
approach to performance. Today, the Steering Wheel creates a shared language, a shared way of thinking and a
common blue print for action.
Tesco maintains that throughout all our businesses across the world we measure our performance through the
Steering Wheel, whether we work in distribution, head office or in stores. This helps maintain focus and balance
in what counts to run each of our businesses successfully, be it wage costs or whether customers can get
everything they want.
Cascading and Communicating the Strategy
Because the Steering Wheel captures the key strategic objectives of the company in one easy to understand
picture, it is a powerful way of communicating strategy to all staff.
When the Steering Wheel was first introduced the company conducted a number of town hall meetings to
explain the strategy. The chief executive insisted on conducting these meetings himself which were seen as a
way to personally engage staff in the stores. It allowed Sir Terry Leahy to explain the strategy face-to-face and
gave staff the chance to ask questions in an interactive way.
Tesco also produced little notes called ‘shopping lists’ to highlight the key strategic objectives for each
perspective (Exhibit 14). These were handed out and printed as posters for the stores. Similar to real shopping
lists, they act as reminders about what it important.
Today, every store and every company within the Tesco group has their own Steering Wheel to manage
performance. This puts the people on the ground in control. The Steering Wheel has been translated into
different languages to ensure it is used to engage frontline staff in all countries Tesco is operating in.
Exhibit 14
Shopping Lists
38
Evolving the Performance Framework
In order to stay relevant any performance framework needs to evolve with the organization and reflect the
shifting priorities. Tesco has been able to change its Steering Wheel in line with a shift in strategic objectives.
One of the more recent major evolutions has been to add the community perspective to the Steering Wheel.
Tesco realized that issues such as climate change and the impact its presence has on the local community are
important challenges. As part of its strategy it now draws up an annual community plan for each area it operates
in.
Exhibit 15 illustrates an earlier version of Tesco’s Corporate Steering Wheel without the community perspective.
The new community perspective has led to initiatives such as reducing the use of carrier bags by 50 percent,
more locally sourced products and a reduction in the carbon footprint.
Exhibit 15
Earlier Version Steering Wheel
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Making Strategy Everyone’s Job
Sir Terry Leahy not only pushed the implementation of the performance management framework, he also made
another change which many would see as controversial: He closed the strategy department. His reason for this
was that he did not want only one department or one leader who is seen as responsible for strategy and
performance; he wanted thousands of leaders who live and understand strategy.
Engaging People in Performance
Sir Terry Leahy has no doubt that implementation matters, not just strategy. He maintains that training and
education is essential to ensure people understand how they can contribute. To that end Tesco created a local
Steering Wheel template for stores to engage staff, facilitate a local discussion and capture local challenges. The
template (see Exhibit 16) asked what is good and not so good for each of the five perspectives and most
importantly how individuals can help to improve it. This simple template engages people in performance and
makes them think about how they can improve performance. In addition to capturing the ideas of front line staff
it allows the store manager to write a message in the bottom field.
Exhibit 16
Tesco’s Corporate Steering Wheel Template
40
Creating a Performance Culture
Tesco wanted to establish a culture in which everybody feels responsible for performance. Where staff come up
with new ideas and where they are allowed to challenge and improve performance. Sir Terry Leahy says that
people mustn’t hold in knowledge and need to share thoughts and information and we have to take risks to be
successful. This means we have to allow people to be wrong. We are not about box-ticking and being wrong
with everyone else.
Measuring Performance – The Pragmatic Way
Tesco has many performance indicators but as Sir Terry Leahy says “The danger is to look at them in isolation
and out of context. We try to put them into context and pay a lot of attention, regular attention, to the
indicators that matter the most to our business”. Tesco’s philosophy is not to answer every conceivable question
with their performance data but only those that help to answer the critical and most important questions.
Tesco always stressed it needed practical insights. Instead of building the largest database it could, pragmatism
ruled and the goal was to build the smallest data storage that would give useful information. When it comes to
performance data, managers talk about professionalism and not perfectionism. A good example is the fact that
the company is happy to look at just a 10% sample of the data to identify key issues and then investigate it
further using larger data sets for the questions that actually matter to customers and the business.
Having the right performance data and the ability to analyze that data are the keys to good management
insights and evidence-based decision-making. They help to answer the ‘big’ questions and put performance data
into context.
The Power of Analytics
The ability to collect and analyze data has transformed Tesco from a company that thinks it knows what
customers want to one that has the knowledge and insights into what customers prefer and how these
preferences keep shifting over time. Sir Terry Leahy states “We don’t spend a pound or dollar on a store without
talking to our customers – They are the best management consultants.”
From Customer Data to Insights
An essential component of Tesco’s performance data is its customer knowledge. Back in 1994, Tesco introduced
its loyalty program called Clubcard. However, while it was introduced as a loyalty scheme, the main premise
underpinning the Clubcard was to gain insights to help Tesco improve the way it runs its business. Experts agree
that loyalty schemes that are only used to target customers with discounts and offers are ultimately self-
defeating. However, it was the potential to generate competitive advantage from the data that made senior
leaders in the company back the idea.
Today, Tesco operates one of the most successful loyalty programs ever created. With over 14 million users the
Clubcard scheme allows Tesco to collect detailed transaction information on two thirds of all shopping baskets
processed at their tills.
For the scheme to remain useful, it was critical that Tesco was able to turn its data into customer knowledge it
could act on.
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Mastering the Data through Partnership
Many of Tesco’s competitors abandoned their loyalty card schemes and argued that analyzing all the data would
be madness. When Tesco started with the clubcard scheme it decided to outsource the data analysis to
Dunnhumby – a company that specializes in data analysis. Tesco realized it did not have the skills to
systematically analyze mass data and therefore left it to Dunnhumby to develop the strategy for the data
analysis. Later on Tesco decided to buy a 53% stake in this company.
Developing In-House Analytical Competencies
With the increasing realization that analytics are an important driver of success, Tesco realized that it needed to
have in-house competencies to analyze customer and performance data. It created an internal team that was
responsible for analyzing data and extracting insights. Tim Mason, Tesco’s marketing director and chairperson of
Tesco.com explains: These people are geographers, statisticians who had spent a lot of time applying those skills
to understanding how customers would behave. They could crunch through the stuff that came from the
Clubcard, see the patterns in it and they could start to help the management of the point towards what should
be done about it. They had to find the data, and present it in a way that makes the decisions stark, and clear.
Tesco ensures it maintains the ability to develop common sense responses. It aims to create processes which
enable relevant insights to be used to improve the reality for customers.
Experiments as a Way of Life
In the same way Tesco is never making any changes unless talking to its customers, it also ensures it runs
experiments to test ideas before implementing them on a wider scale. The performance data plays a vital role in
this process and has enabled Tesco to take new ideas and offers to smaller groups of customers while using the
remaining customers as control groups. This takes a lot of risk out of innovative ideas. In many ways the
performance and customer data has become a powerful laboratory to test whether new ideas work or not.
Tesco’s performance information, especially its Clubcard data, is not just about passively observing trends, it is a
massive laboratory of customer behavior. When it was doing something wrong, it knew about it in days. When it
was doing something right, it could implement it nationwide in weeks.
Tesco’s marketing director says: “As a company we have moved from being intuitive to being analytical. This is a
much more complicated business than it used to be. We do not forget our intuition, but better data lead to
better thinking, and our data give us the confidence to ask the right questions. You can have all the data you
want, but the key is to use them to ask the right questions.”
For example, Tesco is now able to conduct experiments to understand whether new product lines, innovative
offers and price reductions have the desired effects. Using its customer data allows Tesco to track the response
immediately, which takes a lot of guesswork out of business decisions.
Conclusion
Tesco has demonstrated that keeping it simple can be a powerful approach to managing corporate
performance. It has demonstrated three important aspects:
1. By keeping the performance framework simple and easy to understand it is able communicate what mattes
the most to everyone in the company.
42
2. By creating simple tools such as the Local Steering Wheel Template and the Shopping Lists it is able to
engage people in performance and delegate responsibility for performance improvements to front line staff.
3. By not measuring everything it could and instead focusing only on the data that will provide relevant insights
Tesco is able to deliver improvements that benefit customers and its business.
**Adapted from Marr, B. (2009) Delivering Success: How Tesco is Managing, Measuring and Maximizing its
Performance, Management Case Study, The Advanced Performance Institute (www.ap-institute.com).
Case Study 3: Toyota
Applying the Balanced Scorecard to an Automaker
Toyota’s mission statement is to be the most successful and respected car company in America. This goal
entails attracting and retaining customers by offering high-value products and services as well as providing the
most satisfying ownership experience in America.
To help achieve these aspirations, the management at Toyota has developed Corporate Scorecards which
captured the strategic direction of the company and established how success will be measured. The Executive
Committee and Officers collaborated to identify a set of business priorities. For each business priority, relevant
measure and targets were established. While all of these business priorities are important, the top three
business priorities were as follows:
Expand sales to youth buyers
Expand share of the truck, SUV and minivan market
Become #1 in passenger car sales in the U.S.
To keep employees updated on the progress of the scorecards, Quarterly Business Update meetings were held
with regularly updated Scorecard results. Toyota’s Scorecard results are a means to strongly encourage
employees to develop initiates and action plans to support the business priorities. Additionally, the Scorecard
results are used to determine the company-performance portion of the bonus pool.
Toyota’s measure of its Corporate Scorecard for 2003 can be categorized into Operational, Internal business
process, Financial and Stakeholders (Exhibit 17).
A. Operational
Achieve overall Sales objective
Achieve #1 Passenger car position
Increase Light Truck sales
Maintain Luxury SUV leadership
Increase Parts & Accessories Sales
Successful new model launch
Support investment in Mexico
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Maintain strong sales momentum of Hybrid
B. Internal business processes
Expand Sales & Service capacity
Focus on completing major Technology Project
C. Financial
Sustain high level of Profitability given a challenging market
Control the growth of General Expenses
Manage Workforce Cost
D. Stakeholders
Sustain & improve commitment to Associate Development, D & I
Improve Service Retention level to support customer satisfaction
Improve Customer and Sales Satisfaction
Maintain high level of Customer loyalty
Sustain high level of Dealer Satisfaction
Exhibit 17
Toyota’s BSC
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Corporate Scorecard Results
Toyota has successfully exceeded and met all targets set for 2003 with the exception of 3 measures in the
Stakeholder targets.
Such major accomplishments for 2003 include:
Achieving overall sales objective with all-time annual record sales
Achieving #1 passenger car title, surpassing Ford and Chevy
Exceeding light truck sales target
Maintaining luxury SUV leadership, with Lexus as #1 Luxury SUV segment
Successful launch of Scion brand
Future Outlook
In an effort to better align Toyota’s strategic and financial goals, the Executive Committee has agreed on 4 top,
Corporate Priorities for 2004. These priorities will serve as the basis for developing divisional financial plans as
well as business goals for the upcoming year. The 4 Corporate Priorities approved by the Executive Committee
are Quality, Customer Experience, Product and Readiness.
A. Quality
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Protect and improve vehicle quality and leverage QDR image by maximizing performance and improve our
ability to understand, communicate and influence Toyota affiliates.
B. Customer Experience
Continuing profitable growth in our customer base by improving customer sales and service satisfaction and
protecting Lexus leadership. Additionally, Scion needs to provide customers the kind of experience that
generates positive word of mouth advertising while also bringing new customers to the Toyota brand.
C. Product
All product launches are important as they support achieving key scorecard results. However, new models
or major redesigns will be key to Toyota’s future success.
D. Readiness
Infrastructure in place to enable rapid, profitable growth and support customer, dealer and associate
related goals. Such as in the areas of IT capacity, Organizational capability and Financial management.
Conclusion
Toyota has successfully implemented the Balanced Scorecard concept, and has benefited tremendously as seen
from record sales and profits, improved customer loyalty, as well as increased employee contribution,
commitment and morale. Similar to Toyota’s initiative on the Corporate Scorecard, other successful competitors
utilize the Balanced Scorecard to develop their business strategy and plans as well.
Ford uses similar Scorecard concept to help direct their long-term and annual business planning activities. The
Balanced Scorecard translates their vision and strategy into a comprehensive set of performance measures
which includes defining the “what” and “who” of the business plan, the requirements of their action plans and
execution, the framework for their vehicle line business plans, and setting targets.
It is inevitable that in today’s competitive era, a company’s measure of success should not be limited to its
financial operations. Several non-financial drivers often impact the overall strategic performance of a company.
A properly developed Scorecard should provide a balance of financial and operational measures and should align
with the company’s strategic objectives. It is critical to a company’s success in today's competitive environment.
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Case Study 4 - International Baccalaureate
Implementing a Performance Scorecard in a Global Organization: Creating a Roadmap for the International
Baccalaureate
This case study outlines how the International Baccalaureate (IB) organization is managing the global
implementation of a performance scorecard. The case study illustrates how it is creating a strategy map
outlining a roadmap to global success as well as a heat map to highlight current priorities and performance
levels. IB is using the roadmap to review, challenge and fine tune its strategy. It also shows how managers will
be able to design relevant and meaningful key performance indicators to monitor and manage performance.
Introduction
With a life enhancing mission to create a better world through education, the International Baccalaureate (IB)
has created a Roadmap to enable the organization to deliver to this powerful mission that reads: “The
International Baccalaureate aims to develop a growing number of inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young
people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.
To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop
challenging programs of international education and rigorous assessment. These programs encourage students
across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with
their differences, can also be right.
IB created the roadmap on realizing that its 2004 strategic plan was becoming outdated and was not being
effectively communicated inside or outside the organization. Moreover there was recognition that success of
the strategy was proving difficult to measure. With external facilitation from the Advanced Performance
Institute, IB has identified the core competencies, key performance enablers and key resources that will enable
it to deliver to its mission.
Together this strategic performance management framework is known as the roadmap within the organization.
The Publishing team at the IB has already crafted its own version of the Strategy Map and Balanced Scorecard,
which is part of IB’s goal to rollout the roadmap enterprise-wide. But as IB creates an enterprise-wide roadmap,
it must do so against a backdrop of a significant reshaping of IB’s global and regional structure.
About the International Baccalaureate
Founded in 1968, the International Baccalaureate® (IB) is a non-profit educational foundation which offers high
quality programs of international education to a worldwide community of schools.
A mission-focused organization
Such is the importance of the mission that enabling its delivery is a primary reason why people are attracted to
join the organization (it has more than 500 employees worldwide, about 300 of whom are based in Wales,
where its curriculum and assessment center is housed alongside many of the corporate support functions).
There are more than 774,000 IB students (aged from 3-19) at 2,815 schools in 138 countries.
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2004 Strategic Plan
Experiencing consistent growth of between 15 and 20% since its launch in 1968, IB shaped a strategic plan in
2004 that set out to address two key questions:
1. How can we ensure that the growth of the IB benefits schools and students worldwide, not just an
economic elite who can most easily afford high-quality programs?
2. How can we sustain double-digit growth rates while maintaining the IB's reputation for quality and
innovation?
3. With these questions as a guide, three major themes were identified within the strategic plan.
With these questions as a guide, three major themes were identified within the strategic plan.
1. Quality: Continuously improving the quality of IB’s programs
2. Access: Enabling more students to experience and benefit from an IB education, regardless of personal
circumstances
3. Infrastructure: Building a highly effective and efficient infrastructure so that we can provide excellent
service to students and schools
The plan sets out 28 actions that would be implemented over a five to ten year period to deliver to these
themes. For example, within the Infrastructure theme a key activity would be:
An effective regional structure, which would involve reviewing the regional and sub-regional structures so that
the organization could develop an increasing degree of regional autonomy and ensure the best use of resources
given IB’s /worldwide coverage.
Two further infrastructural actions focused on performance measurement, which set out to establish a series of
key performance indicators (KPIs) for the delivery of defined services, to understand the most important aspects
of service delivery and develop the capacity to collect data that would enable the measurement of performance.
Amongst other achievements, this led to the creation of a rudimentary Balanced Scorecard of financial and non-
financial KPIs.
Although there had been clear successes against the plan, by 2008, the plan was becoming somewhat dated and
was not being communicated well, which meant that it wasn’t that well understood either inside or outside the
organization. Within the IB, they began to witness a loss of clarity around what the strategic plan was or what
they were trying to achieve. People could understand the mission, but the next level down was not particularly
clear, and it was difficult to accurately gauge how well the organization was performing against the strategy.
Introducing a “Balanced Scorecard”
For the scorecard design and implementation to be successful, it was of paramount importance that the senior
team bought into the concept, who agreed with the core scorecard message that is impossible to succeed with a
Balanced Scorecard without the active support of the senior team (or at least influential members). Without that
support, the idea would have been dead in the water. The senior leadership team has to own an organization’s
strategy, so if they do not own the map then it would not work.
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Building a Roadmap
With senior management buy-in secured, the draft Balanced Scorecard Strategy Map was built in the early
months of 2009. An early decision was to not call it a Balanced Scorecard. “Many people might feel
uncomfortable with the term,” says the company. “And we wanted to call it something that resonated with the
business and that would not be viewed as a program that was separate from the everyday working of the
organization,” she continues. “We certainly did not want people talking about “this thing” called the Balanced
Scorecard.” At the moment the framework is called the Roadmap.
Explaining the Roadmap
IB’s current Strategy Map (Roadmap) is shown in Exhibit 18. As a mission-based organization, the mission
statement sits atop the map. The mission is critical to the organization and it was important that everything on
the Strategy Map supported that. The mission statement is fairly broad and philosophical, as to be expected
from a global educational foundation, and so the board and senior team are presently working on a new five
year vision that will enable a more practical and focused implementation of that mission. That the shaping of
this vision is still going on is important to note, as the final outcome will be captured in the final Strategy Map
The present map, therefore, and indeed accompanying Key Performance Questions (KPQs) and KPIs are very
much work in progress. However, the company stresses that the existence of the Roadmap is already delivering
tangible benefits to the organization. Without question the main benefit so far is that it has got everyone
thinking about and talking about the IB strategy.
As shown in the exhibit, the IB mission is divided into two more specific outcomes: increase impact of IB
education and broaden IB influence. Scrolling down the map, a set of core competencies has been defined that
the organization believes it must master if it is to successfully deliver to its mission. These are arranged under
three groupings: “delivering high quality operational services (such as “teacher development”), “managing our
reputation: (essentially about “generating awareness” and “marketing of services”) and “developing a high
quality continuum of educational programs”.
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Exhibit 18
IB’s Strategy Map
Delivering to the core competence is through a set of key performance enablers, such as relationships,
innovation, and research. In turn these enablers are supported by key resources, such as “our people,
competencies and our values”, “our IT systems,” and “our infrastructure”. Also at the base of the map can be
found “finance.” As a nonprofit organization, the leaders of IB recognize that in essence it is more focused on
the wise stewardship and allocation of financial resources than on making money. That said it has created a
Strategy Map for the IB publishing team that has a financial perspective near the top of the map.
***Adapted from Marr, B. and Creelman, J. (2009) Implementing a Performance Scorecard in a Global
Organization: Creating a Roadmap for the International Baccalaureate, Management Case Study, The Advanced
Performance Institute (www.ap-institute.com)
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Review Questions – Section 2
6. Roberts, Inc., manufactures a product that experiences the following activities: Processing (three
departments) = 18 hours, Moving (four moves) = 2 hours, Waiting time = 14 hours, Rework time = 26 hours. The
MCE for the product is
A. 0.31.
B. 0.39.
C. 0.53.
D. 0.30.
7. At the beginning of 2x13, Smith Company installed a JIT purchasing and manufacturing system. The following
information has been gathered about one of the company's products: Theoretical annual capacity = 4,000;
Actual production = 3,600; Production hours available = 2,000; Actual cost per unit = $28. The theoretical
velocity per hour is
A. 1.8 per unit.
B. 2.0 per unit.
C. 0.5 per unit
D. 0.55 per unit.
8. Which one of the following organizations is NOT related to the Balanced Scorecard and performance metrics?
A. Management Help
B. SCORE
C. American Productivity and Quality Center
D. The Balanced Scorecard Institute
9. ________________________ is a metric that should be included in a future Balance Scorecard (BSC), some
argue.
A. Internal business process.
B. Customer.
C. Community.
D. Learning and growth.
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Glossary Customer perspective A Balanced Scorecard dimension that defines the customer and market segments in
which the business will compete.
Cycle time (manufacturing) The length of time it takes to produce a unit of output from the time materials are
received (starting point of the cycle) until the good is delivered to finished goods inventory (finishing point of the
cycle).
External measures Measures that relate to customers versus shareholders (e.g., customer satisfaction and return on investment).
Financial measures Measures expressed in monetary terms
Financial perspective A Balanced Scorecard dimension that describes the financial consequences of actions
taken in the other three perspectives.
Internal business process perspective A Balanced Scorecard dimension that describes the internal business
process needed to provide value for customers and stakeholders.
Internal measures Those measures that relate to the processes and capabilities that create value for customers and shareholders (e.g., process efficiency and employee satisfaction).
Lag measures Outcome measures, measures of results from past efforts (e.g., customer profitability).
Lead measures (performance drivers) Factors that drive future performance (e.g., hours of employee training).
Learning and growth perspective A Balanced Scorecard dimension that defines the capabilities that an entity
needs to create long-term growth and improvement.
Nonfinancial measures Nonmonetary units (e.g., cost per unit and number of dissatisfied customers).
Objective measures Measures that can be readily quantified and verified (e.g., market share)
Performance dashboard A report that allows managers to visually monitor and focus on managing the
company's key activities and strategies as well as business risks.
Strategy map A diagram that is used to document the primary strategic goals being pursued by an organization
or management team and can then be created based on the if-then statements developed.
Subjective measures Less quantifiable and more judgmental in nature (e.g., employee capabilities)
The Balanced Scorecard A strategic performance management system that permits an organization to create a
strategic focus by translating an organization's strategy into operational objectives and performance measures
for four different perspectives: the financial perspective, the customer perspective, the internal business process
perspective, and the learning and growth (infrastructure) perspective.
Velocity The number of units of output that can be produced in a given period of time (units produced/time).
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Index
Balanced Scorecard, 4, 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 12, 15, 16, 19, 21, 22, 23, 25, 32, 33, 42, 45, 46, 47, 48, 50, 51, 55
Customer perspective, 4, 51 Cycle time, 12, 14, 15, 51 External measures, 3, 51 Financial measures, 3, 51 Financial perspective, 4, 51 Growth perspective, 30, 31, 51, 54
Internal measures, 3, 51 Lag measures, 3, 51 Lead measures, 3, 51 Nonfinancial measures, 3, 51 Objective measures, 3, 51 Performance dashboard, 5, 51 Strategy map, 23, 51 Subjective measures, 3, 51 Velocity, 12, 51
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Review Question Answers
Section 1
1. An organization's managerial decision-making model for capital budgeting is based on the net present value
of discounted cash flows. The same organization's managerial performance evaluation model is based on annual
divisional return on investment. Which of the following is true?
A. Correct. Effective management control requires performance measurement and feedback. This process
affects allocation of resources to organizational subunits. It also affects decisions about managers'
compensation, advancement, and future assignments. Furthermore, evaluating their performance
serves to motivate managers to optimize the measures in the performance evaluation model. However,
that model may be inconsistent with the organization's model for managerial decision making.
B. Incorrect. Self-interest provides an incentive to maximize the measures used in performance evaluation.
C. Incorrect. A manager evaluated on the basis of annual ROI has an interest in maximizing short-term net
income, not long-term NPV.
D. Incorrect. The models should be synchronized so that the goals of the organization and the manager are
congruent.
2. The balanced scorecard provides an action plan for achieving competitive success by focusing management
attention on critical success factors. Which one of the following is NOT one of the perspectives on the business
into which key performance indicators (KPIs) are commonly grouped in the balanced scorecard?
A. Correct. A typical balanced scorecard classifies objectives and KPIs into one of four perspectives on the
business: financial, customer, internal business processes, and learning and growth.
B. Incorrect. Financial performance measures are among the tools used in a typical balanced scorecard.
C. Incorrect. A typical balanced scorecard contains Objectives and measures focused on internal business
processes.
D. Incorrect. Employee innovation and learning is one of the perspectives on the business commonly used
in a balanced scorecard.
3. Using the balanced scorecard approach, an organization evaluates managerial performance based on
A. Incorrect. The balanced scorecard approach uses multiple measures.
B. Correct. The trend in managerial performance evaluation is the balanced scorecard approach. Multiple
measures of performance permit a determination as to whether a manager is achieving certain
objectives at the expense of others that may be equally or more important. These measures may be
financial or nonfinancial and usually include items in four categories: financial, customer, internal
business processes, and learning and growth.
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C. Incorrect. The balanced scorecard approach uses financial measures such as ROI, RI, and cash flows.
D. Incorrect. The balanced scorecard approach uses nonfinancial measures such as the customer, internal
business processes, and learning and growth metrics.
4. Which of the following balanced scorecard perspectives examines a company's success in targeted market
segments?
A. Incorrect. The financial perspective addresses such balanced scorecard Key Performance Indicators
(KPIs) as (1) sales, (2) fair value of the firm's stock, profits, and (4) liquidity.
B. Incorrect. The balanced scorecard Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the internal business process
perspective may include (1) quality, (2) productivity, (3) flexibility of response to changing conditions, (4)
operating readiness, and (5) safety.
C. Correct. The balanced scorecard Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the customer perspective may
include (1) customer satisfaction, (2) customer retention rate, (3) dealer and distributor relationships,
(4) marketing and selling performance, (5) prompt delivery, and (6) quality. Thus, the customer
perspective may use measures of sales trends, market share, and market share trends in particular
market segments.
D. Incorrect. The balanced scorecard Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the learning and growth
perspective may include (1) new product development, (2) promptness of introduction of new products,
(3) human resource development, (4) morale, and (5) workforce competence.
5. On a balanced scorecard, which of the following is NOT a customer satisfaction measure?
A. Incorrect. Customer satisfaction measures include market share, although this can also be a measure of
market performance.
B. Correct. Customer satisfaction measures include market share, retention, response time, speed of
delivery, delivery performance, number of defects, and lead time. Economic value added, or EVA, is a
profitability (financial) measure.
C. Incorrect. Customer satisfaction depends greatly on how fast delivery occurs, but this can also be a
measure of operational efficiency.
D. Incorrect. Customer retention is one of the primary measures of customer satisfaction and critical to a
company’s on-going success.
Section 2
6. Roberts, Inc., manufactures a product that experiences the following activities: Processing (three
departments) = 18 hours, Moving (four moves) = 2 hours, Waiting time = 14 hours, Rework time = 26 hours. The
MCE for the product is
A. Incorrect. The computation did not include moving time. 18/(18 + 14 + 26) = 0.31
B. Incorrect. The computation did not include waiting time. 18/(18 + 2 + 26) = 0.31
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C. Incorrect. The computation did not include rework time. 18/(18 + 2 + 14) = 0.31
D. Correct. MCE =18/(18 + 2 + 14 + 26) = 0.30
7. At the beginning of 2x13, Smith Company installed a JIT purchasing and manufacturing system. The following
information has been gathered about one of the company's products: Theoretical annual capacity = 4,000;
Actual production = 3,600; Production hours available = 2,000; Actual cost per unit = $28. The theoretical
velocity per hour is
A. Incorrect. 1.8 = 3,600/2,000
B. Correct. Theoretical capacity/ actual production = 4,000/2,000 = 2 per unit.
C. Incorrect. 2,000/4,000 = 0.5
D. Incorrect. 0.55 is a nonsense number.
8. Which one of the following organizations is NOT related to the Balanced Scorecard and performance metrics?
A. Incorrect. This organization offers a robust “library” of decision-making tools and library resources. The
site offers many resources on such topics as strategic planning, performance measurement, employee
development, and make-or-outsource decisions. It also includes online discussion groups, decision-
making guidance, and free reference material.
B. Correct. SCORE that stands for Service Corps of Retired Executives is a nation-wide volunteer
organization of retired business executives and professionals to help small businesses in advice,
counseling, and information and assistance.
C. Incorrect. The American Productivity & Quality Center (APQC), an internationally recognized nonprofit
organization, provides expertise in benchmarking and best practices research. APQC helps organizations
adapt to rapidly changing environments, build new and better ways to work, and succeed in a
competitive marketplace. The objective of this collaborative center is to “Understand how innovative
organizations create succession management programs to identify and cultivate potential leaders who
will provide a sustainable business advantage.” The Best Practices and Free Resources links lead to many
useful resources.
D. Incorrect. The Balanced Scorecard Institute is an independent educational institute that provides
training and guidance to assist government agencies and companies in applying best practices in
balanced scorecard (BSC) and performance measurement for strategic management and
transformation. Their website provides background information about implementing the balanced
scorecard and the proper selection of nonfinancial measures. It also provides several examples of past
successes.
9. ________________________ is a metric that should be included in a future Balance Scorecard (BSC), some
argue.
A. Incorrect. Internal business processes are the means for creating customer and shareholder value.
Thus, the process perspective of BSC entails the identification of the processes needed to achieve
customer and financial objectives.
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B. Incorrect. The customer perspective of BSC is the source of the revenue component for the financial
objectives.
C. Correct. Some companies add a fifth perspective, "Sustainability," or even add a sixth perspective,
"Community," to reflect triple bottom line goals. The Community Perspective might include: percentage
of profit donated to local schools and organizations, percentage of materials sourced locally, product
safety ratings, number of hours devoted to local volunteering
D. Incorrect. The learning and growth (infrastructure) perspective is the source of the capabilities that
enable the accomplishment of the other three perspectives’ objectives of BSC.
